Vouliagmeni holds the first place on house prices, while the lowest values are recorded at the Skala Oropou community, compared to the other seaside areas of Attica.

For anyone interested in buying a home in the Athenian Riviera or the Attica coastline, the choices are many and the price range is quite large. The highest average price per square meter is located in the southern suburbs of Athens, with Vouliagmeni being the first (4,672 € / sq.m), Kato Elliniko (4,283 € / sq.m), Glyfada (3,583 € / sq.m.) and Voula (3,342 € / sq.m). The top five with the most expensive areas is completed with Sounio (3,298 € / sq.m).

The other coastal areas of the southern and eastern suburbs of Athens do not fall below two thousand euros per square meter. More specifically, there is an increasing interest towards Southern Athens by foreign prospective buyers, who are willing to check luxury properties, often to obtain the Golden Visa.

Spitogatos Network, the N.1 real estate portal network in Greece, recently performed a research on international interest towards Greek property. The study reveals a significant increase in traffic from emerging countries and in requests made by foreign users regarding Greek home listings for sale, as recorded on our portals (Spitogatos.gr – Tospitimou.gr – Spiti24.gr).

The first two months of 2017 show a 20% increase in visitors from abroad in comparison with last year and, in particular, a sudden and large increase in users from China, Turkey, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, as shown in the table below.

According to the study, traffic remains consistently high in countries such as Britain, America, Germany, Canada, Australia and the Balkans, but it seems that new countries are added to the prospective buyers’ audience, possibly because of the program "Golden Visa" which ensures a residency permit with the purchase of property worth more than 250.000 €.

The most impressive element however, pertains to the requests made by foreign visitors to the advertisers on our websites. Users are not only looking for properties, but move on to the next step and express interest for specific listings. Compared with the first two months of 2016, the average increase in requests for residential properties for sale from abroad reaches an average of 125.6%, and in some areas is even greater, with the highest being in Thessaloniki and the southern suburbs of Athens.

As spring and summer season approaches, we expect an even greater average increase in the areas of touristic interest.

Greece is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world with ideal climate, breathtaking landscapes and unique destinations. That is why its wonderful islands are magnets for those seeking a second home, whether they come from Greece or abroad.

According to data of Homegreekhome.com, house searches in Greek islands rise sharply during the summer months. The study of home listings for sale shows that the islands with the highest average asking price per square meter is Mykonos at 4,759€/sq.m. and Patmos at 4,064€/sq.m., while Santorini, Skiathos and Sifnos come next.

The lowest average sales prices are observed in Kos, at 1,381€/sq.m. and the Northeast Aegean islands, Chios, Samos and Lesvos.

In the Ionian islands, Kefalonia is the most expensive at 2,283€/sq.m. and Zante is the least expensive at 1,841€/sq.m. In Crete, Lasithi exceeds the rest of the cretan counties with an average asking price of 2,412€ per square meter, while Rethymno holds the lowest average price at 1,703€.

The biggest islands, seem to have relatively low average asking prices, with the average asking price in Rhodes to be around 1,793€/sq.m. and Evia at 1,584€/sq.m.

Property rentals have served as a "life jacket" for the Greek real estate market during the last seven years of crisis, as economic asphyxiation has pushed those seeking residence to prefer to rent than buy.

"Pole of attraction" for prospective tenants are apartments of 2 and 3 bedrooms, relatively new or refurbished, at prices starting from an average of 300 euros and up to an average of 600 euros. Of course, the initial listing prices lessen after the usual "bargain", which can lead to rent reductions from 5% to 15%.

As the inventory of unsold homes remains high, the interest lies in finding property of small and medium value, considered "good deals". According to Alpha Bank data on the development of apartment rents, it is apparent that, from the first quarter of 2012, when they began their fall, until the fourth quarter of 2015, a cumulative price decline of rents of 20.4% was recorded.

"The market is moving, as it does, from rentals," says Spitogatos Network CEO, Dimitris Melachroinos. "Sales are historically low, since the estimation for the number of transactions in 2015 is 13,000, from about 150,000 in 2008. This is a reduction of over 90%, while prices have fallen an average of 45%." Aspiring tenants are highly selective when it comes to choosing an area to look for an apartment, while their preferences on the type of residence also differ. They show a clear preference to cheaper areas and medium sized, good quality homes.

"The types of property hunters vary. There are those who watch the general pulse of the market, the regular visitors looking for the perfect opportunity without hurry and those who are actively searching and communicate daily with the advertisers."

500 to 800 euro

Newlyweds or families with small children usually turn to rentals of medium sized and large apartments, with good construction and in areas far from the center, while the center is preferred by students and people living alone. To the north and south suburbs of Athens there is a preference for 3-bedroom apartments (70-120 sq.m.), under 15 years and at prices around 500-800 euros, depending on the region, construction and size. In Eastern Attica, prospective tenants look for apartments of 60-80 square meters, while in Western Attica there is a preference for large apartments (100-120 sq.m.) up to 600 euros. In areas popular for students, studios and 2-bedrooms are preferred (especially near the subway), provided they are in good condition and at prices of 150-300 Euros.

The "ideal home" brings together economic characteristics (heating and maintenance) as well as safety. In house searches through listings, heating with natural gas, good construction (of the last decade), aluminum frames, few shares and nice view (3rd and 4th floor are preferred), play an important role. Desired is also the existence of a fireplace, warehouse, parking position, while the energy certificate which is a must in listings, is not a reason to reject a house by the prospective lessor.

Athens, July 9 2015 – Whilst the spotlight of politics and the world economy is fully focused on Greece, the Greek real estate market is also in agitation: awaiting future developments, not only for Greece but also for the whole European Union, interest in the case of Greece real estate has grown enormously.

From the day following the proclamation of the Greek referendum, property searches by Greek users have decreased by an average of 38%. At the same time, however, property searches coming from abroad increased by an average of 60%. Even 3-4 days following the proclamation of the referendum, property websites' traffic from abroad increased by 130%, to settle back down to an average growth of 50% that remained constant in the following days.

The calculations are coming from Spitogatos.gr (http://www.spitogatos.gr), the leading property website in Greece with over 600,000 property listings from 2,000 agencies, and 2 million visits in June 2015. The analysis was carried out using data from all real estate sites of the Spitogatos Group which are translated into six languages (including Spitogatos.gr,Tospitimou.gr, Spiti24.gr and Homegreekhome.com). The research has been able to demonstrate how the latest developments in Greece have impacted the interest of citizens from around the world for Greek houses.

"The increase in searches - explains Dimitris Melachroinos, CEO of Spitogatos.gr - is strongly linked to the media exposure of Greece, occupying the front page of every newspaper in the world, the hype related to the ongoing negotiations and the decline in the real estate demand and prices over the last few years (prices have decreased by an average of 50% and annual property sales transactions by over 90% in the last 8 years). More and more international users seem to share the idea that now is the right time to look for a property in Greece. "

Not all nations have shown, however, the same interest in Greek real estate, which is experiencing a signicant crisis, after reaching peak levels shortly after the 2004 Olympics, and has seen a significant fall in prices and number of property transactions. Nations historically linked to Greece are those that tend to search more aggressively for housing opportunities in the area: the largest increase is in searches from Russia (+ 244% of searches for Greek properties, compared to the period prior to the announcement of the referendum), then Italy (+ 194%), France (+ 156%) and Turkey (+ 105%). Then, the largest increases in searches for the equivalent period are coming from countries that have many Greek immigrants / expats, such as the United States (+ 114%), Australia (+ 105%) and Canada (+ 96%). It also noted that there is a relatively smaller increase of property searches from the United Kingdom (+36%) and even a small decline from searches coming from Germany (-5%).

«Clearly, to ensure that this interest is translated into actual transactions - continues Melachroinos - the economic and political situation has to settle, so that potential buyers have a clear picture. The real estate industry does not work with impsulsive purchases; regulation and socio-political environment is crucial, so we have to wait for the development of events."

Below is a diagram summarising the changes in traffic at the Group's websites (reference period: July 2-8 vs. June 11-17 2015)